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Diabolically Arcane

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War & Peach

12 November, 2011

With those Cryptic Commandments still needing time to collate, here’s a piece of whimsy I’m shaping into a puzzle. Every month I make a book-flavoured challenge for The Victorian Writer, and this time round the gimmick is called Surprise Endings.

Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece about an orchard skirmish is called War & Peach, while Annie Proulx’s quirky yarn dealing with a maritime amphibian is The Shipping Newt. Can you figure out these narrative twists – and spring a few new shocks in the Comments?

  1. Patrick White gives a wader’s POV

  2. One gesture, says Margaret Mitchell, and rapture ensued

  3. Smells like fodder, reckons Orwell

  4. Fodder’s outcome by Frank Herbert

  5. Viagra confessional from Ernest

  6. Yoko’s influence as chronicled by Bryce

  7. Snotty linen quest led by Mem Fox

  8. McEwan’s gets amazingly lazy

Blab away. New twist endings welcome.

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Rewording The Brain

Focus & memory, lateral leaps & logic - every aspect of cognitive health is lit in Rewording The Brain, a book revelling in how puzzles boost your brain. Part 2 equips your brain to conquer any twisty clue, plus the wild crossword finale. Pop science meets neural gameplay, Rewording is rewarding, and out now.

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Rewording The Brain

Care to renew your noodle? Rewording The Brain explores the latest neural studies, seeing how puzzles (and twisty clues) boost your neurons. Part 2 helps you crack such clues, and prep the grey matter for the crossword showcase to finish. More here

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101 Weird Words (and 3 Fakes)

From Ambidextrous to Zugwang, this mini-dictionary teems with rare or alluring words, plus bonus riddles, puzzles and fun word-facts. Dictionary detective will also nab the collection's three fakes. Ideal for late primary schoolers, or word-nuts in general.

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Gargantuan Book of Words

Sneeze words. Fake pasta. Viking slang. Gargantuan is a jumbo jumble of puzzles & games, mazes & quizzes, tailor-made for that wordy wonderkid in your life. Or anyone in love with letters, secret codes, puns, rhymes, emoji & all things languagey. More here 

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Recent Comments

Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
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